| Screenwriting
manuals (English)
Tony Bicât and Tony
Macnabb (2002). Creative screenwriting; a practical guide. The Crowood
Press.
Screenwriting manual – English
143 pages, includes glossary, bibliography and index.
ISBN 1-86126-525-5
Author information:
“Tony Bicât is an award-winning writer and director, who
has worked extensively on original material in film, television and
theatre. He also runs writing and directing workshops both in the UK
and abroad.” (cover text)
“Tony Macnabb is a writer, script consultant and translator, who
has worked in TV and feature films, and for the European Union’s
MEDIA programme.” (cover text)
Summary:
Creative screenwriting guides the reader step-by-step through the creative
writing process. This book includes chapters on story, character, dialogue,
structure and time. Furthermore two chapters are dedicated to defining
and selling the story. These chapters explore how to use genre, how
to prepare a pitch and how to work with other writers, agents and producers.
In the back of the book step outlines are included from movies like
The Full Monty and Devil´s Advocate.
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Lajos Egri (1960). The
art of dramatic writing; its basis in the creative interpretation of
human motives. New York: Touchstone book.
Writing manual – English
305 pages, includes index.
ISBN 0-671-21332-6
Author information:
“Lajos Egri was born in the city of Eger, Hungary (...) For more
than thirty-five years he has written and directed plays in Europe and
the United States. He was director of the Egri School of Writing in
New York City for many years.” (cover text)
Summary:
The art of dramatic writing is aimed at authors of short stories, novels
as well as screenplays. Egri presents an approach that is centred around
the character, which is the element that drives the story. The story
develops around dramatic conflict on the basis of the behaviour of these
characters. The book explores both modern and classic plays and is completed
by a selection of analysed synopsis and plays.
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Syd Field (1984). The screenwriters
workbook. New York: Dell Publishing.
Screenwriting manual – English
ISBN 0-440-58225-3
Author information:
Syd Field is screenwriting trainer, lecturer and author of Screenplay:
the foundations of screenwriting and Selling a screenplay: the screenwriter´s
guide to Hollywood.
Summary:
The screenwriters workbook is based on Syd Field´s large experience
as a screenwriting tutor. Field presents his book as a self-study guide,
which guides the reader through the whole writing process and includes
exercises at the end of each chapter. The book is divided in two parts:
one about preparation and one about the writing process. The first part
deals with topics like getting started, writing a summary and character.
The second part covers the structure of the first and second act, the
first and second half of the script and the rewriting process. The book
is completed with a glossary of terms, movies and people mentioned.
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Elliot Grove (2001). Raindance
writers´ lab; Write + sell the hot screenplay. Oxford: Focal Press.
Screenwriting manual – English
239 pages, includes index and cd-rom.
ISBN 0-240-51636-2
Author information:
“Elliot Grove is founder and director of the Raindance Film Festival
– the largest independent film festival in Europe – and
founder of the British Independent Film Award. He teaches professional
scriptwriting and low-to-no-budget courses as well as the weekend masterclass
´Write the Hot Script´ in London and overseas. (...) Elliot
has produced three features and over fifty short films.” (cover
text)
Summary:
“Elliot Grove uses a hands-on approach to screenwriting based
on his many years of experience teaching the subject for Raindance training.
He uses step-by-step processes illustrated with diagrams and charts
to lend a visual structure to the teaching. Techniques are related to
real-life examples throughout, from low budget to blockbuster films.
The accompanying CD-ROM contains interviews with British directors like
Declan Lowney, Nik Powell and Nowma Heyman. The CD also contains sample
scripts and legal contracts, a writing exercise illustrated with a video
clip, a folder full of useful hyperlinks for research, and a demo version
of Final Draft screenwriting software.” (cover text)
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Andrew Horton (1999).
Writing the character-centered screenplay. Berkeley: University of Berkeley
press. Second edition.
Screenwriting manual – English
237 pages, includes index and suggestions for further reading/viewing.
ISBN 0-520-22165-6
Author information:
“Andrew Horton is the Jeanne Hoffman Smith Professor of Film and
Video Studies at the University of Oklahoma. His previous books include
Laughing out loud: writing the comedy-centered screenplay, Three more
screenplays by Preston Sturges and Play it again Sam: retakes on remakes.”
(cover text)
Summary:
“Horton surveys the New Hollywood while always emphasising the
one element of a film that truly holds our interest – character.
This expanded edition includes a new chapter on screenwriting in the
twenty-first century and beyond, ten new exercises and updated and expanded
lists for contests, fellowships, resources, and festivals. The texts
are illustrated by a wealth of examples from film and television including
Shakespeare in love, the silence of the lambs, Fargo, Thelma & Louise,
The full Monty. Furthermore the book includes a fourteen-week character
and script development schedule and guides for pitching, self-critique,
rewriting, registering your script, working on foreign projects, producing
your own script and more.” (cover text)
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David Howard and
Edward Mabley (1993). The tools of screenwriting; a writer’s guide
to the craft and elements of a screenplay. New York: St. Martin´s
Griffin.
Screenwriting manual – English
298 pages, includes index and analysis of sixteen feature-films.
ISBN 0-312-11908-9
Author information:
“David Howard is an active screenwriter, “script doctor”,
and script consultant, both in Hollywood and in Europe. He is also the
founding director of the Graduate Screenwriting Program at the University
of Southern California’s School of Cinema-Television. In addition
to his teaching duties at USC, he frequently lectures and teaches, often
in conjunction with Frank Daniel, throughout Europe as well as around
the United States.” (cover text)
“Edward Mabley, besides being the author of Dramatic Construction,
wrote, among other works, the play Glad Tidings and the text of the
grand opera The Plough and the Stars (after the play by Sean O´Casey).
He wrote radio and television plays, directed in television, and taught
at the New School for Social Research in New York. He died in 1984.”
(cover text)
Summary:
The Tools of Screenwriting is a practical guide for screenwriters. In
this book Howard and Mabley discuss dramatic construction and the tools
of storytelling. Screenwriting tools like dialogue, protagonists and
character development are discussed and illustrated by the analysis
of sixteen feature films, which include The Godfather, North by Northwest
and Citizen Kane.
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Lew Hunter (1994).
Lew Hunter´s screenwriting 434. New York: Perigee Books.
Screenwriting manual – English
351 pages, includes index.
ISBN 0-399-51838-X
Author information:
“Lew Hunter has two master´s degrees and has worked for
Columbia, Lorimar, Paramount, Disney, NBC, ABC and CBS as a writer,
producer, and executive. Between semesters of his Screenwriting 434
course at UCLA, where he is chairman of the screenwriting department,
he travels around the world conducting workshops for thousands of aspiring
screenwriters.” (cover text)
Summary:
This book is based on Hunter´s experience as a teacher at UCLA
where he has been teaching screenwriting classes since 1979. This book
covers the whole writing process starting with a chapter about ideas
and finishing with a chapter about rewriters. In between Hunter addresses
topics like story, character, outlines and treatments. The main part
of the book is dedicated to the three phases in the three act structure.
Lew Hunter´s screenwriting 434 is recommended and used by many
screenwriting trainers and screenwriters.
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Christopher Keane (1998). How to write a selling screen-play; a step by step approach.
Broadway Books.
Screenwriting manual – English
308 pages, includes suggestions for further reading and a complete annotated
screenplay.
ISBN 0767900715
Author information:
Christopher Keane is a writer and screenwriter and teaches screenwriting
workshops in the USA and Europe.
Summary:
Christopher Keane uses his experience as a screenwriter in Hollywood
in this complete guide to the development of a script. This book gives
an overview of the different steps in the writing process and gives
advice on topics like structure, dialogue and characters. Other topics
are the business side of screenwriting, writing for television, finding
an agent and adaptation. The complete adaptation to the screen of Keane´s
novel the Crossing is included in the back of the book with commentary
from the author.
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Robert McKee (1997).
Story: structure, style and the principles of screenwriting. Regan Books.
Screenwriting manual – English
480 pages, includes recommendations for further reading and index.
ISBN 0-06-039168-5
Author information:
McKee has taught numerous screenwriting seminars and works as consultant
for TriStar and Golden Harvest Films. Films by his students include
The colour purple, Forrest Gump, Leaving Las Vegas and Toy Story. McKee
has written numerous television and feature films and in 1991 he was
awarded the H.U.W. Award for Best Arts Program for J´Accuse: Citizen
Kane.
Summary:
Starting with the basic concepts (What is a beat? A scene? A scene sequence?
An act climax?) McKee unravels the mysteries of standard three-act dramatic
structures but also demystifies atypical structures such as two-act,
seven-act and even eight-act films, exposing the limitations of each
genre; spotlighting the importance of theme, setting and atmosphere;
and highlighting the importance of character versus characterisation.
From concept through final manuscript, Story elevates writing from an
intellectual exercise to an emotional one, transforming the craft of
screenwriting into an art form by carefully exploring the subtler considerations
at work in film. McKee uses examples from film classics like Casablanca
and Chinatown.
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Margareth Mehring (1990). The screenplay; a blend of film form and content. Boston, London:
Focal Press.
Screenwriting manual – English
296 pages, includes glossary, bibliography and index.
ISBN 0-240-80007-9
Author information:
“Margareth Mehring is the director of the filmic writing program
at the university of Southern California´s School of Cinema –
Television. As head of her own production company and as a freelance
professional, she has written, directed, and produced more than 90 instructive
and documentary films. She has taught filmmaking and screenwriting for
almost 30 years.” (cover text)
Summary:
The screenplay: a blend of film form and content sees screenwriting
as a blend between film content (“what the writer wants to say”)
and filmic elements (filmic space and time, sound etc.). The basics
of storytelling for the screen are described, including theme, character,
time, imagery, dramatic structure, motion, space and sound.
Two chapters are dedicated to the practice and process of writing. Exercises
enable readers to put the theory into practice.
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William Packard (1987). The art of screenwriting. New York: Paragon House.
Screenwriting manual – English
188 pages, includes index and selected bibliography.
ISBN 0-913729-36-1 (hardcover)
ISBN 0-913729-37-x (paperback)
Author information:
“A graduate of Stanford University, William Packard is founder
and editor of The New York Quarterly, as well as a screenwriter, poet,
and playwright. He has been profiled in The New York Times and Newsweek
and lives in New York City.” (cover text)
Summary:
The art of screenwriting is a ‘how-to-book on writing’ and
includes writing exercises and information about the business side of
the trade, such as contracts or copyright. Other chapters focus on adaptation,
writing treatments and technical terms. William Packard argues that
screenwriters should develop a ‘film head’; they should
learn how to see, feel and experience reality in film terms by seeing
as many films as possible and learning about shooting and editing.
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Phil Parker (1999).
The art & science of screenwriting (second edition). Exeter: Intellect
books.
Screenwriting manual – English
219 pages, includes suggestions for further reading and index.
ISBN 1-84150-000-3
Author information:
“Phil Parker is teacher of screenwriting in the UK and Europe.
Currently Course director of the MA in Screenwriting at the London Institute,
he also works as a consultant with the UK Film Counsil” (cover
text)
Summary:
In this book Phil Parker provides a guide to both the theoretical and
practical sides of the screenwriting process. A theoretical framework
is described (“the creative matrix”) which combines story,
character, theme, dramatic structure, plot, genre and style. Other features
are a step-by-step guide that takes an idea to a finished film script
and a look at the rewriting process. A chapter is devoted to the business
of screenwriting touching the topics of becoming a paid screenwriter,
finding an agent, contracts and pitching.
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Cherry Potter (1990).
Screen language; from film writing to film-making. London: Methuen Publishing.
Screenwriting manual – English
274 pages, includes index.
ISBN 0-413-75290-9
Author information:
“Cherry Potter graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1973.
She has written for film, television and theatre. She was Head of Screenwriting
at the National Film and Television School, Beaconsfield, for five years,
and has taught at the Canadian Centre for Advanced Film Studies and
for the EU Media Programme for Training European Screenwriters. She
has also run courses on film in many European Screenwriters. She has
also run courses on film in many European countries.” (cover text)
Summary:
“Cherry Potter has used her extensive experience as a writer and
film-school teacher to provide a combination of analysis and inspiration
which will engage the thinking cinema-goer as well as aspiring screenwriters
and film-makers. Using sequences from films as diverse as Wild strawberries,
The Lacemaker, For a Few Dollars More, Midnight Cowboy, The Cook, the
Thief, His Wife and her Lover and American Beauty, Potter examines the
nature of film language, structure and storytelling, as well as departures
from the classic form. A final section (...) looks at the imaginative
process of generating film ideas and invites readers to explore their
creativity by providing essential guidance and practical exercises.”
(cover text)
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Michael Rabiger (2000). Developing story ideas. Boston: Focal Press.
Screenwriting manual – English
214 pages, includes index.
ISBN 0-240-80198-9
Author information:
“Michael Rabiger has worked in the cutting room on feature films,
as an editor and director in documentaries, and as a production and
aesthetics educator. He has directed or edited more than 35 films, founded
the Documentary Center at Columbia College Chicago, and is now Chair
of the Film/Video Department. He is the author of Directing: Film Techniques
and Aesthetics and Directing the Documentary.” (cover text)
Summary:
Developing story ideas presents the principles of the artistic process,
and can be applied to screenwriting and other forms of writing. This
book is aimed at students who receive initial training or write alone.
The reader will learn how to observe life around him and use these observations
to develop a story or scene outline. The book is full with self-examination
exercises and writing assignments. A chapter describes how to expand
the outline into its final form by explaining how to bring structure
into a screenplay and how to develop characters. The final chapter explains
teachers how to use this book in a writing class.
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Robin U. Russin and William Missouri Downs (2003). Screenplay: writing the picture.
Los Angeles: Silman-James Press.
Screenwriting manual – English
438 pages, includes glossary and index.
ISBN 1-879505-70-3
Author information:
“Robin U. Russin is an award-winning screenwriter, playwright,
producer and screenwriting teacher at the University of California,
Riverside. Among his film credits is the number-one box-office feature
On deadly Ground.” (cover text)
William Missouri Downs is a film and television writer and an award-winning
playwright whose work has been produced at the Kennedy Center and at
theatres all over the world. He is the author of the book Playwriting:
From Formula to Form.
Summary:
Screenplay is a screenwriting guide that looks at both the writing process
and the industry. The book is devided in five parts and starts with
a chapter on how to impress script readers. Part one looks at the basics
of screenwriting: format, character, research etc. In the second part
different approaches to story structure are presented. This part includes
a chapter on genre. Part three (writing) is dedicated to narrative writing
techniques, dialogue and rewriting. The final two parts of the book
tell how to market a script and look at the differences between writing
for film, television and playwright. Europeans should take into account
that the industry aspects described are more applicable to the American
market than to the European.
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Linda Seger (1990).
Creating unforgettable character. Owl Books.
Screenwriting manual – English
256 pages, includes index.
ISBN 0-805011-7-14
Author information:
Linda Seger started working as a script consultant in 1983 and has worked
with writers, directors and producers from all over the world. She is
the writer of Making a good script great.
Summary:
Creating unforgettable character is a scriptwriting manual that looks
at the character, according to many the most important element in the
screenplay. This book is based in about thirty interviews with novelists
and writers for film and television. Linda Seger points out the importance
of researching before starting to write. The psychology and history
of the characters, the relation with others, as well as dialogue and
scenario are treated in individual chapters. All these elements together
should allow the reader to write believable and well-defined characters.
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Linda Seger (1994).
Making a good script great. Samuel French Trade; 2nd edition.
Screenwriting manual – English
240 pages, includes index.
ISBN 0-573699-21-6
Author information:
Linda Seger started working as a script consultant in 1983 and has worked
with writers, directors and producers from all over the world. She is
the writer of Creating unforgettable character.
Summary:
“Making a good script great focusses on the rewriting process
and offers specific methods to help you craft tighter, stronger and
more workable scripts. (...) this expanded, second edition adds new
chapters that take you through the complete screenwriting process, from
the first draft through the schooting draft.” (cover text)
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Dwight V. Swain with Joye R. Swain (1988). Film scriptwriting; a practical manual, second
edition. Boston, London: Focal Press.
Screenwriting manual – English
422 pages, includes index.
ISBN 0-240-51190-5
Author information:
“Dwight V. Swain is scriptwriter and has established the film
scriptwriting program at the University of Oklahoma. He has conducted
seminars on film structure and has published various books and articles
about scriptwriting.” (cover text)
Joyce R. Swain is a professional writer and has written scripts for
international, training, and documentary films and video.
Summary:
“This second edition of Dwight V. Swain´s Film Scriptwriting
is both comprehensive and practical. Here you will find the clear, step-by-step
guidance and instruction you need to script fact and feature film and
video, from idea to treatment to master scene or shooting script, from
character-building to final format.” (cover text)
The book is divided into three sections. The first section looks into
the fact film, the second treats the feature film and the third section
the tricks of the trade.
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Jurgen Wolff and Kerry Cox (editors) (1993). Top secrets: screenwriting. Los Angeles:
Lone Eagle Publishing Company.
Book – English
342 pages.
ISBN 0-943728-50-9
Author information:
“Jurgen Wolff writes for films, television and the stage. He has
taught screenwriting at USC and is the author of Successful Sitcom Writing
(St. Martin´s Press).
Kerry Cox has written for The Disney Channel and Aaron Spelling Productions.
Together Wolff and Cox authored Succesful Scriptwriting (Writers Digest
Press).” (covertext)
Summary:
This book about screenwriting is based on the theory that if you really
want to know how something is done, you should ask a person who’s
done it. Top secrets: Screenwriting is a “collection of biographies,
in-depth interviews, story summaries and solid examples of the work
of the current top screenwriters including Stephen E. De Souza (Die
Hard), Michael Blake (Dances with wolves), Nicolas Kazan (Reversal of
Fortune), Mary Agnes Donoghue (Paradise), Tom Schulman (Dead Poets Society)
and others.” Apart from discussing story structure and techniques
of characterisation, in the interviews the screenwriters talk about
what drives them to tell the story.
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Screenwriting manuals (French) Yvette
Biro & Marie-Geneviève Ripeau (2001).
Direction scénario; exercices d´imagination. Paris: Séguier.
Screenwriting manual – French
239 pages.
ISBN 2-84049-206-7
Author information:
Yvette Biro is a screenwriter, essayist and teacher at the New York
Graduate Film School, furthermore she is the writer of Hurry Slow, the
order of disorder and Profane Mythology.
Marie-Geneviève Ripeau is director of the screenwriting department
of la Femis. She is a screenwriter, author-director and writer.
Summary:
Exercices d´imagination describes a method of screenwriting that
is based on the principles of free association and the stimulation of
memory. Objects like photographs or a piece of music serve to inspire
writers. This book is the result of Biro and Ripeau’s experience
teaching screenwriting at film schools in New York, Paris and Los Angeles.
Throughout the book the theory is illustrated by the best texts produced
during these courses with comments by Biro and Ripeau.
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Christian Biegalski (2003). Scénarios: modes d´emploi. Paris: Dixit.
Screenwriting manual – French
319 pages, includes bibliography and glossary in French and English.
ISBN 2-84481-063-2
ISSN 0988-1042
Author information:
Christian Biegalski created the first French screenwriter training course.
He is screenwriter for film and television and has been involved in
the writing of twelve feature films and the writing of more than sixty
hours of television fiction. He is director of the Conservatoire Européen
d´Écriture audiovisuelle that offers vocation training
for screenwriters.
Summary:
This screenwriting guide is based on years of writing and teaching experience.
Biegalski explains that there are different ways to write a screenplay
and explains the importance of learning how to read and use screenwriting
language. The book further examines story elements like protagonist,
antagonist and conflict and the structure of a screenplay. The final
chapter is dedicated to the different steps in the development of the
script (pitch, synopsis and treatment). Throughout the book examples
of feature films and case studies are used to illustrate the theoretical
framework.
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Jean-Claude Carrière
and Pascal Bonitzer (1990). Exercice du scénario. Paris: Femis.
Screenwriting manual – French
Includes bibliography.
ISBN 2-90711-406-9
Author information:
Jean-Claude Carrière has written screenplays for directors like
Luis Buñuel, Jean-Luc Godard, Milos Forman and Andrzej Wajda.
He is writer of a number of screenwriting manuals and is former director
of la Femis.
Pascal Bonitzer is director, writer and screenwriters. He was editor
for Cahiers du Cinéma and has taught screenwriting courses.
Summary:
This book about the writing of a cinematic screenplay is divided in
three parts. Part one deals with the practice of the cinematic screenplay
(starting to write, getting paid, the writer and the script etc.). The
second part is dedicated to “teaching screenwriting”. Carrière
and Bonitzer argue that these courses should not be limited to theoretical
courses, students should know how a film is made and a useful exercise
is improvising before writing. The third section touches the problems
of the cinematic screenplay and deals amongst others with characters,
body language and finishing the script.
The bibliography includes books, magazines, interviews, articles and
studies.
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Jean-Claude Carrière (1993). Raconter une histoire; Quelques indications.
Paris: Femis.
Screenwriting manual – French
132 pages
ISBN 2-907 114-22-0
ISSN 1015-2504
Author information:
Jean-Claude Carrière has written screenplays for directors like
Luis Buñuel, Jean-Luc Godard, Milos Forman and Andrzej Wajda.
He is writer of a number of screenwriting manuals and is former director
of la Femis.
Summary:
This book is about the art of storytelling. According to Carrière
telling stories is a social necessity. From this starting point Carrière
takes the reader through the history of the story, touching the old
Greeks, Shakespeare, Balzac, among many others). Carrière argues
that esthetical rules in expression evolve over time. A large part of
the book is dedicated to writing for film. Carrière expresses
his fear that, if film making is left to the free market, all cinema
that is other than American will disappear.
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Michel Chion (1986).
Écrire un scénario. Cahiers du Cinéma.
Screenwriting manual – French
223 pages, includes bibliography
ISBN 2866420349
Author information:
Michel Chion is composer, writer, essayist and director of films and
videos (among others). He has taught courses about the mise-en-scene
of sound at universities, schools and for professionals. Michel Chion
has written a trilogy about sound in cinema and his films and music
pieces received numerous prizes.
Summary:
This manual is based on four case studies of famous films (le Testament
du Docteur Mabuse by Fritz Lang, To have or not to have by Howard Hawks,
“l´Intendant Sancho” by Kenji Mizoguchi and Pauline
à la plage by Eric Rohmer). Of these four films a synopsis and
an analysis is presented. The second part of this book describes principles
and examples of techniques that are used in a screenplay. In the last
chapter Chion describes different ways to present a screenplay: synopsis,
treatment, shooting script, storyboard.
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Pierre Jenn (1991).
Techniques du scénario. Paris: Femis.
Screenwriting manual – French
199 pages, includes bibliography
ISBN 2-907 114-11-5
ISSN 1015-2504
Author information:
“Pierre Jenn (1947) is lecturer at the University of Paris I (Sorbonne).
He wrote a book about Georges Méliès and the screenplay
of Sniper. In 1988 the academy of motion pictures arts and sciences
(Los Angeles) awarded him with the George Pal Lecture.” (cover
text)
Summary:
Techniques du scénario explains how to write for film or television.
Pierre Jenn combines approaches of American screenwriting teachers like
Lajos Egri and Syd Field with tradition dramatic approaches of writers
like Aristotle or Shakespeare. The book is divided in five sections.
The first four look at story elements like action, characters, structure
and dramatic composition. The final section is devoted to the writing
process (some topics: different phases, writers block).
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Pierre Maillot (1989). L´écriture cinématographique. Paris: Meridiens
Klincksieck.
Screenwriting manual – French
258 pages.
ISBN 2-86563-317-2
Author information:
Pierre Maillot teaches at the Ecole nationale supérieure Louis-Lumière.
He pubished amongst others Le cinéma français de Renoir
à Godard.
Summary:
In L´écriture cinématographique Pierre Maillot looks
at the writing of a screenplay by comparing the art form film to other
Writing a screenplay is described in comparison to writing a theatre
play or a novel. This is not a how-to guide, but more a abstract approach
to screenwriting.
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Francis Vanoye (1999). Scénarios modèles, modèles de scénarios.
(2e edition). Paris: Nathan.
Screenwriting manual – French
255 pages, includes bibliography.
ISBN 2091908673
Author information:
Francis Vanoye is professor at the university Paris X-Nanterre and is
the author of Récit écrit – Récit filmique.
He directed the collection Synopsis, which offers detailed analysis
of classic and modern films. (cover text)
Summary:
In Scénarios modèles, modèles de scénarios
the screenplay is described as an ever-changing form, a combination
of models that come from theatre, novels and other expressive forms.
The screenplay is a combination of its contents, narrative, dramatic
structures and characters. One chapter of this book is dedicated to
the adaptation from novels and texts to screenplay. Furthermore Vanoye
looks at dialogue and the interaction between the screenplay, the public
it is aimed at and the society in which it is produced.
The theory described in this book is illustrated by examples from films
of Wenders, Coppola and Fellini, amongst many others.
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Screenwriting manuals (Spanish)
Pablo Alvort (2002).
La artesanía del guión; técnica y arte de escribir
un buen guión para el cine. Taller de Cine: Pablo Alvort.
Screenwriting manual – Spanish
400 pages, includes bibliography and exercises.
ISBN 84-95242-30-3
Author information:
Pablo Alvort graduated in directing at the FAMU filmschool in Prague
and has written various screenplays. He has taught screenwriting at
the Universitat Autónimica de Barcelona.
Summary:
La artesanía del guión is a screenwriting guide for starters
and professionals. All the steps in the writing process are described:
from idea to structure and characters and from structure and characters
to a complete screenplay. This screenwriting manual looks into practical
topics like the style and layout of the script and gives tips for writing,
rewriting and co-writing. An analysis of Hitchcock´s North by
Northwest is included.
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Julio Diamante (1998). De la idea al film; El guión cinematográfico:
narración y construcción. Junta de Andalucía. Consejería
de Cultura.
Screenwriting manual – Spanish
367 pages, includes bibliography
ISBN 84-8266-045-4
Author information:
Julio Diamante (1930, Cádiz) is director and screenwriter. Some
of his films: La Carmen, Helena y Fernanda (Neurosis), Los que no fuimos
a la guerra and El arte de vivir.
Summary:
De la idea al film is divided in two parts. In the first part Julio
Diamante speaks about the theory of the screenplay. This part includes
a chapter about films, screenplays and their relation with novels and
theatre, a chapter about techniques of the screenplay (characters, story,
genre, etc) and a chapter about the practice of a screenwriter. The
second part is called ´la práctica´; here you can
find the screenplay, synopsis or treatments of nine of Diamante’s
films together with personal comments.
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Antonio Sánchez
Escalonilla (2001). Estrategias del guión cinematográfico.
Barcelona: Ariel Cine.
Screenwriting manual – Spanish
335 pages, includes bibliography and index.
ISBN 84-344-6801-8
Author information:
Antonio Sánchez Escalonilla got his doctor’s degree in
information science at the university Compultense in Madrid. He has
done investigations at the university of California and Los Angeles
and has worked in Hollywood. At the moment he teaches audiovisual narrative,
before he has taught in different film courses. Sánchez Escalonilla
wrote the biography Steven Spielberg (1995) and is member of the Círculo
de Escritores Cinematográficos.
Summary:
Estrategias de guión cinematográfico is a complete screenwriting
guide, aimed at professionals and beginners. The book consists of four
parts: cinematic narration, the creative process, the three-act structure
and character. The focus of this book is more on story elements than
on the writing process. The text is illustrated with examples from scripts
of recent movies like The Matrix, The Usual Suspects and The Green Mile.
The book combines a practical and an academical approach.
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Mario Onaindia (1996). El guión clásico de Hollywood. Barcelona: Paidós.
Book – Spanish
222 pages, includes references.
ISBN 84-493-0271-4
Author information:
Mario Onaindia obtained his Ph D. in English Studies with a thesis about
the Hollywood screenplay. He was managing director of the Viridiana
foundation that is dedicated to studies about the cinematic screenplay.
Onaindia has taught several courses about the subject.
Summary:
El guión clásico de Hollywood is an adaptation of Onaindia´s
thesis about the classic Hollywood screenplay. This book is different
from manuals of the type “how to get rich writing film scripts”,
because it integrates narrative theories into the studies of a screenplay.
The key to understanding how a screenplay works is within the relation
between spectator and the work of art. This relation is influenced by
the structure of the film and the genre that the film belongs to. Onaindia
argues that there is both a superficial and a profound reading of the
movie. The profound reading enables us to analyse why the film provokes
a certain reaction to the public. The theory is illustrated by a case
study of Billy Wilder´s The apartment.
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Various authors (1998).
Imágenes que cuentan; Reflexiones sobre el arte de escribir guiones.
Valencia: Generalitat Valenciana.
Book – Spanish
165 pages.
ISBN 84-482-2061-1
This book presents a selection of 16 texts about the problems, techniques
and resources that a screenwriter, or someone who is trained to be a
screenwriter, may come accross. The texts are based on lectures held
by screenwriters, directors and producer during the courses about audiovisual
writing that took place in Valencia from 1992 untill 1998. This book
does not pretend to be a manual, but provides a wide variety of views
on the art of telling stories with images. Some of the directors, producers
and screenwriters whose texts can be found in this book are Luis García
Berlanga, Jorge Goldenberg, Joan Alvarez and Dick Ross.
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Various authors (2000).
Imágenes que cuentan II; Reflexiones sobre el arte de escribir
guiones. Valencia: Generalitat Valenciana.
Book – Spanish
147 pages.
ISBN 84-482-2379-9
This second edition of Imágenes que cuentan includes texts that
are based on lectures and courses about audiovisual writing and related
subjects that took place in Valencia in 1998 and 1999. Most texts deal
with screenwriting and the creation, development and production of audivisual
projects. In comparison with the first edition of Ímagenes que
cuentan the scope of this book is wider: it includes texts about documentaries
and television programming. Two interesting texts are those by Jorge
Goldenberg and Gilda Santana, who speak about the problems and difficulties
that trainers come accross when they teach screenwriting.
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Lorenzo Vilches (editor)
(1998). Taller de escritura para cine. Barcelona: Editorial Gedisa S.A.
Screenwriting manual – Spanish
337 pages.
ISBN 84-7432-657-5
Author information:
Lorenzo Vilches is director of the Master de Escritura para cine y television
and teaches at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. This book
includes contributions by Maricla Sellari (script editor, Radiotelevisione
Italiana RAI), Jean-Claude Carrière (screenwriter), P.Lluís
Cano (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona), Linda Seger (script
editor and writer), Tom Abrams (director and screenwriter), J. Louis
Comolli (writer and director).
Summary:
Seven experienced screenwriters and directors talk about writing a screenplay.
The book is a mix of theory of cinematic narration and concrete advice.
The contributions that are collected in this book find their origin
in screenwriting courses at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona.
Some topics covered: principles of creativity, practical advise, credibility
of characters, genre and documentaries.
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Development manuals
Isabelle Fauvel (2000). Developper un projet
pour le cinema. Dixit.
“Developing a project for the Cinema” Dixit, 2001.
Book – French
191 pages, includes bibliography
ISSN 0988-1042
ISBN 2-84481-007-1
Author information:
Isabelle Fauvel has produced or co-produced five feature films at Flach
Film between 1986 and 1992. In 1993 she started her consultancy firm,
Initiative Film. She is specialised in the development of audiovisual
projects and is regularly invited as guest lecturer or expert. In 2003
she designed the training programme MEDISCRIPT.
Summary:
Developper un projet pour le cinema is a guide to the development process:
the work that takes place before the start of the production. The book
starts with the question “what is development?” and looks
at the different players involved (screenwriters, directors and producers).
The main part of the book describes the different steps of the development
process, touching topics like finding a project, legal issues, from
pitch to complete screenplay and finding finance. The final chapter
focuses on the marketing side of the project.
The book is completed with 18 annexes, including relevant directions,
bibliography and a graphic representation of the development process.
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Angus Finney (1996).
Developing feature films in Europe; a practical guide. London: Routledge.
Book – English
137 pages, includes index and appendixes with directions of funds and
training/development initiatives.
ISBN 0-415-13661-X
Author information:
“Angus Finney is a writer and consultant specialized in film,
media and the arts. He is a former Deputy Editor of Screen International
and is currently Chairman of the Festival Film School, a training initiative
aimed at developing new talent in the European industry. He is also
the author of The Egos Have Landed: The Rise and Fall of Palace Pictures.”
(cover text)
Summary:
This book is a “comprehensive study of the [development] stage
of the film-making process. Based on extensive research and interviews
with more than seventy industry practitioners, it examines current funding
practices, presents training initiatives for writers and producers,
and highlights the potential for further improvements. Angus Finney
has also compiled an invaluable directory of contacts, addresses and
application procedures for public and private funding bodies throughout
Europe.” (cover text)
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